«t
, the habitatinns lying below the 2-.urfac-’.=.
._*.,,l . .. - '
FROM THE .31.o:inoN qU.ii;Tnni.vj-'_n.1:viE\v. l
REVIEW OF A NARATIVE’ _
0fTp#,,v¢1sinNorthctin Africa, in tlteyears 1818,
19, and 20, by Capt;G. F. Lyon, R. Navy, com-
panion of the late lVl_l'. Ritchie.
t “rho world,’ says Dr. Johnson fifty years ago,
.'is now 'not~conten:ed to be merely entertainecl
_ by a travellet"S nat'i‘ati\'e,tliey want to learn some-
thing-.’ The world, we suspect, is ‘something
more fastidious at present than when they good.
Doctor made ‘his obs:-Irvation ; and yet . though
the N:u~ra'ti've before us‘ has no claim to“ merit as
a literary composition‘, no pretensions tvhutcvcr to
abstract science, or anliqtt_at'ian researclt, yet we
are not afraid tohazard an opinion, that it will be
not only read, but found to afford lJOl.ll/.ll'lStt'UCll0n
and eittcrtainmcnt. - - . _ .
Our author was serving as one of the lieuten-
ents nfthe Albion, when the late Mr. ltitchie, ar-
rived at Malta. Vtféaty of inactivity, and anx-
ious to visit new countries, he volunteered his
services to arzcoinpany that gentleman, then pro-
ceeding on his mission to Northern A frica, front
Tripoli ; as did also .loli_n Bclforrl, a‘carpentct'.,-j,-
On assei‘nblin_s; at Tripoli. in November.’ l8l8-.
they found there the Bey of-Fezzan, who was a-
bout to proceed to Mourzouk, the c_apnal of that
country ; and under whose"protecuon our travel-
. 13;-5, by order of the llztshaw. were to c'»mnte.nce
their ‘arduous expedition. As, however, a" V;Cl',)"V
considerable delay was likely tnvoccur in the ll“ ll‘
at-ations of Muknt »l_so.1lie'Bey was mined] Mr,
_ litchie thought a short excursion to Betiittleul,
by the way of the Gharian mountains, rn.ig,-ht tend
to habituate them to the mode of tt'a\'ellm’:; and
the manners of the Arabs,'as well as enable t/hem
to gain some inform'.tt'ton ollthe state ol the inte-
riur of'~Ihe Tripolitan dominions. _ ,.
to Capt. Lyon gives some details, which this jour-
nev ldtgnislied, reapcc-ting the domestic economy
ofithe Arabs; but asithey differ not materially
‘from the accounts already before the public, we
. ‘ shall only notice his desci-i'pti0ti of the subterra-
nean villagtisa 0!‘ nests of caves, inhabited by the
.—.,,.;b¢5 of the Gl'l£1l‘l3fl. On reaching the summit
,,f,,,.,,%e .mom'uains,, l__ht'ciIu_l1 uarrmv, ivuggecl and
j imticate ‘passes_, a table‘-land opened u_p:.in _thc
u-avellers,zipparchtly in a high state of cultiya-
iipn ; ’ext[en_g.;ii'e fields of corn and sa{i'ron,min-
5-glad with olive, apple, and almond trees, lormecl
a lively_ contrast with the arid deserts on all sides
beiteatli’~:£-1'-lis.tt no human dwelling was visible, all
A hole
of about 12 yards 5(juul‘c_lS dug- in the lime-st'one_
' rock,>t-0 the depth of 25 or 30 feet. At the bot-
tom ofthis. excavatiotis are made into the pet‘-
pendicular faces of the rock. according’ to the
number and sizeof the fatnilies_the_V are to lodge.
The only access tothis area is through a sloping
- passage, the entrance of ‘which is at the Lllslillltti
of 90 or I00 feet.. It is rudely arched with stone
and secured byla ponderous door. 'l‘hroug;h this
tl'lCl!'-iiéalille,§il'é_-(ll'l\'CD, and,s_ecu_t'ely shut up with-
in the sqiia-r'e during the night. . " _
M A f¢w.ye_ars ago, tlieprcsent Bashaiv of 1 zip-
o1'i'nia¢lc' ivar upon ‘these _mouutai:-iecrs. _l*‘ot
some time lllt‘y‘(lCfcn(lE‘(l the_a'r passes \’\i-'.,lt ,Q'l‘_€aI
‘b'rat;‘e‘t'y,>and4dcslroye(l-"numbers of the ‘l'i-ipolitic
at-my ; they were at length, forced back on their
- gubggjffanean _al;nd_es, w.li_e__ti the , .l3as_ltaw’s‘_pcople
hgjapvs of:-95“-'a‘yi:’ qll fil'€g lllt'(;‘_\\»
- them blaiing into the areas, suffocated the .lUl!‘¢ll)°
itants. men, women,,an<l_childi-eta, and returned
in"_t:i'ium“ph to Tl‘:-ipoli, with "twelve ¢s,,n.t.lasas of A
heads I Notwithstaiiding this. the fiE'§ll3W9 We WC
told, is considctieiljas a‘mig_hty §{0O(l.§ot"l ofa man
for a:;,.,.-m._k’. 50,’: rnucl) less blood-t,liirsty ‘than his
brother despots of -'5-‘U"“5 “_"‘_l A_lgl“"""“5 "”“l' l”
f;;':;t, though. in his yOttnget'.days he openly rebel-
led against his ,faiher,-and '1'lltll'(l€'!‘C(l-lilb‘ elder
' _ ' by-‘other in “lllrescnccr of their-inotlier, -he is un-
questionably the nio:-at-libel-al of all.the‘s0\'€T‘5l5sl“5
--“,—y,0' .j,,,,—,c ,,'.j,.1d¢d‘-ghg blood-stained seep-trc of
' v'.,—‘;_t‘y can devise, by’ tearing their hair, st.n€3J'l“l§
-.1 "1"h:'y were half na‘ked.,at-intervals uttering short
'-;-352..-grOan8—’flD(l howls ; andas ‘they.p.t-oceedcd (sonic-
. limes three or four abreast, leamngon each oth-
ll.
' X; ..d'eser'ts. ‘As-a contrast to the app
' were added several small parties of 1llJ€|‘3l€d."e'
'Tripoli._. V . , . . , _
; ":Befot"'e he nizlde this e:<cut‘S1on,l30W8V0!'a Call‘.
min Lyon, who had as.su.med the dress of the
country. and"dUl)' ‘l‘“‘llfi‘=(l l‘l’f.'5‘-'lf f°"'l‘55"‘§F‘5
agood Musselmati, ventured into the streets of
T,;;,,oj;, (0,, ogcasion of a solemn ])l‘0C£’S5l0ll' at
which no Christian or JeW,C3"a "N"-ll 53f“‘l'i Show
himself.). to witness the triclzs of a set ofvaga-
boncls‘, known by the name of).'.t£l3l"'°‘*l§’-"mt Wl}"> ‘}"‘
‘der pretence ofsup‘erior sanctity‘: l1l<‘3~ll‘e l‘"l““'5
of India,.practice all manner ’of"jug.'§'ling and im-
-posture ; take-up snakes and SCOl'pl0i'l5 4‘ jacefille
their bodies; and, in short, make thcn2<e- YC5 all’
_pcar as odious ahd as disgusting as their ingenu-
their faces, whirling rapi/dly round, and wjorking
: 1.hem_selv‘cs into an’apparent state of frenzy.
“ One'of these mad and mischievotlb‘ mm-l*‘°5
. had a-large nail:-on through both checks ; andtttll
t harlbitten their tongues in so violent a manner as
to cause blood" and saliva tollow most copiously .
er,) {hey threw their heads backw-.it'ds_and lor-
,:-,...-.i.».-.»m. . quick motioin wmctz“ caused the
blood to rise in their faces, and their eves to_pt?<j-
- ject¢'from the sockets to afrightful <l€§;|‘<='~f- 3 hell",
long mack 1,31,-, whtchgtlew...fl‘Ol~u1lle crown o
"the head (the other-parts being. closely shai't'.|l~)
was continually waving to and .-fro. 0“"'t§ V’ ‘he
motion of the head. One or two who were the
most lurious, and who ‘continually attempted to
A IJUH ai the crowd, Wcirc, l)€l,d,1"bY 3 mm ‘"_’ e“_°h
side, by means ofa rope, or a ltandkerchtef tied
round the middle. As }$’<’-_,Pi\'53C‘l tl“'°U*'.;’.l‘ °}‘°_°f
the streets, a party of Maltese and other (,lir.is_-
tians were discovered onxa tet'rac6a_1iTl‘l Were ‘“‘
-stantly assailed. by showers of stones. I observ-
,,3,, that whenever the Maiaboots passedithe house
.ofia Christian, they affected If) he "“g"_"e”"3bl“’
and endeavored to get near Us I""°‘°P‘l‘”.9_l “WY
'. made the discovery by smelling out Dnbelievers.
It was not till the 22:4 March, 1819. that Mulc-
ni was i'cadv to take his departure lorMout‘z0tt1i-
The come‘ to, ca,-gu-ai:) consisted of about two
1mndrevd,m.n, and as many camels. To these
groes, joyful at the idea ofhrctt1liDlF;§$'n‘(’1‘(:‘r3°n:‘:'“‘;“:
.- ' '-native l't-ml thou witisc , _ -
tdflilsistetice ‘and,’ serial of the Women “ilill
jioung childreii at their backs 3 m‘“‘Y Oflllem had
‘he’ prospect ofa journey of two thottsaml 1111195-
} - '
V . ' -nr-l
1‘l.e.great.ct' Pa“ Of 1119 WJY °"e" Sm"-V mfg?‘ Y
‘ caraoccv t 95°
pom. c,.eaw.,_cS, Munki joined them on the 26th,
l
. .150 liorserhen, dr'esscd‘iri_jt}ie most super-b
and gaudyv—,;_ip,par,e‘l.; _ , . - _
.It_ was matkct day. when they reached Benin-
leed, on which account the caravan halted ; and
here Captain Lyon wa's.introduccd to the wife of
Slteik.Barood, the chief manager of ll1ucl;ni’s af-
fairs. . He had hcard“that she was the most beau-,
tiful creature ‘ever seen, and (the very acme ,_ ’
y,
scarc_ely walk, ' The following is his accoui
the interview. _ I
“ On my entrance she so veiled hcrselfas 1
exhibit to advantage her arm, with all its gay or-
namcnts, and on my requesting to belavoted
with a vieurof her face, she, with very little rc-
luctance, g-ratified me. Herichin, the lip of her
Imses and the space between her eyebrows, vrerc
marked with black lines; she was rntich tcuged ;
her neck. arrns, and legs, ‘were covered with tat-
tooed flowers, open hands. circles, the names of
Gftfla and her numerous male friends. She had,
a mnltimrle of gold ea'i'—rings and ornaments, set
fvitll vety bad and countetfeit jcwcls,$"and \\'eigh-
ing all log-ctl.ct', I should think, two’ or three
pmnd.-.. l-‘lershirt was of stttipecl sill: ; and she,
had a rich putplc Si.i{ barracan, or n1antl'e.g't'a_t:e-
fully thrown round her, and fastened at the breast
,bl' 3 §1‘0ld.pi "t. with ornaments of the same metal
5‘55ll0'tdr:rl front it.: all the other articles of fine-
tg, which she p.'i*~—css--rl were (lisplayed round the
it'll‘ ’ -tliilst a tnoltilnde of poor thin wretches, rc-
;::n.bfing witch» s. sat round her in astonishment,
TI':“tfr tI.'=\’in,t'_ to anti“ lives seen such a paragon of
pes'l'~.:r.'titn. Like all other Arabs,‘ they touched
I whatever‘ piss.-.t-.cl them most, one adiniriiig this
object» i’«It0'-her sornetliing near it, so that our poor
be.-lle was_sotr'ietiines poked by a dozen fingers at.
once ; all, ll"t‘i‘-‘eVt:l', agreeing on one point. that
she was beautifully and eircessively fat, and I
must say I never before beheld such a nionsttous
mass ofhuman flesh. One of her legs, ofenor-
mous size, it as uncovered as high as the calf, and
every one pressed it, admiring‘ its solidity, and
praising God for blessing them with such a siglzt.
I was rcceivcdmost graciously, and invited to all
close to her, when one of the lit-st questions she
2i'sk:'d me’ was, ifin my country the ladies wr;t't;
as fat and ‘handsome as herself? For the plump-
ncss of my countrytvomenfl owned. with shame,
that I nut-er had seen one possessed of half such
an a(lmit‘able rotnndity, which she took as a great
Compllmvxnt; but I did not zzttcrnpt to carry the
co“mpat'ison fartlicr, though she was really very
ltandsome in face and features. She amused
herself while speaking, with p.kiyiti_9; on a kind of
rlrtlm made ofgclay, called 'Dr:rbo‘oka, by bearing
with one hand, and playing will/'tlie‘fingcrs ofthc
other and perceiving that I was amused by it,
she ordered an old man to get up and dance. The
-‘fem’-tics sang and chipped their hands in good
time, and the dancer went through a variety of
fi'sUl’<‘=8» all equally indelicatc. A woman then
-succeeded him, and in this respect quite threw
him in the shade; but as I knew it to be the..gcn-
eral modeof dancing; in this part ofllarbary, lof
course applauded it. Lallal ‘Patma hcrsclfthen
tl_i~'«t,r;lit proper to honour us with a few gt'ace'l'ul
attitudes in'ihe'sante style; but Mr. llitchie’s en-
trance into the tent soon put a stop to the exhibi-
tion, anrl the-ceremony of veiling took place in
the same manner as before.” . -,
' The farilier the party advanced, the more Urea-
ry the country became ; the surface was unenli-
vencd by a single tin: of verdure, except by the
sickly leaves ofa lew stinted bushes, and now and
then bythe uppca.-‘once of a -waa’cy,or valley. with
a little patch of cultivated ground. On the 6th
April they reached the northern frontier of Fez-
zan, at a place called Bonjc m, marked by a well,
and a Roman castle in ruins. They now cntt:t't:d
upon a stony plain entirely dcstittttc of food .1-ind
water for the camels ; here they experienced one
ofthose drr—:adl‘ul storms known by the name of
Sirocco, which blow from the east or smith-east
across the deserts of Africa, sweeping befot e them
such clouds of sand ‘as to make it inipossible to
move, or even to open the eyes. “ In addition to
the excessive heat and dryness of these winds,"
says Captain Lyon, “ they are so impregnated
with sand. that the air is darkened by it, the sky
appears ofa dusk-y yellow, and the sun is l)‘.1l‘Cly
perceptible. The, eves. become red, swelled and
inflamed, the lips and skin parched and chopp erl, L
while severe pain in the chest is very _e;em:rally
felt, in consequence ol the quantiti-cs of sand una-
voidably inhuled.’.’
The, following day, the wind having abated,
they reached bockna; when the attendants of
Munki dressed themselves in their best cloth;-_s ;
and with music and duncing,'and lll‘it'lg of mus-
kcts, and accompanied by seven or eight huntlrctl
of the ltlllal)l'tal‘tls,‘ll)t:.y entered, or rather ruslied
-into the town in a scirt of irregular procession.-
. “ Sockna stands on an immense plain of gravel
._..b'aundcd to the south byitlie Suudah mountains,
at about 15 miles; byjttlie mountainsof VVadan
about thirty milesto the eastward ; a distant range
to the west; and those‘ I have already itientioned
on passing through'“to the north. The townis
wallet}, and may com in 2000 persons ; more than
half the: people we sa this day were from lioon
um} \Va(_lal'l. There a c small projections -‘from
the walls, having loop-bibles for‘ musketry. The
streets are very narrovv,‘, [§§’the houses are bbilt
-
i
of mud and small stones 'xed, many‘ of them
having a story" above the ground floor. A -small
court is open in the centre ; at d the windows, or_
more properly the doors which open from this
area, give the only light which the rooms reccite.‘
The water of Socknu is almost all brackish or hit-
tel‘. There are 200,000 rlatetrees in the imme-
diate neighborhood ofthe tou-it which pay duty ;
also an equal ’llUl'l’)l}(§I', not yet come into hearing»
which are exempt. Tlicse dates grow in a belt
ofsand, at about two or threcvmilcs distant from
the town, and are ofa quality far superior toany
produced in the north of Africa. Owing to.their
excellence, they are sold at a very high price at
‘Tripoli. The adjoining 6ouittt'y is entirely des-
titute of shrubs, or any kind of foodforvcamels,
which are therefore sencto graze about five miles
ell‘; while in the town all animals are fed on dates.
Tll€‘(.it't:SS of the men is clqsc:'il)cd‘as neat, and
the women are said to be .'.andSQt_fl€s man)’ Of
them being as fair as‘Europea" ts; biit alliof pro;
fligate manhers. Tl_t6_ tangil-‘ge is'not Arabic,
~ but similarito that oftlie’,'Z1‘-oat" ks'\Vl10.,inhabi!, Va-
rious parts ofthe soutlicrn cl ert, and is consid-
ered as a dialect of the origi l Brcbers. At the
distance often miles easterly pm Sockna lies the
9 amcederi by flags and music, and attended by 8-
1
town of Hoon, and twelve les further that of
N
lémalc perfection in Africa)‘ so fat that g-.7'.'- ’
the D811’!/t:"Ol‘ ti castle. _
cans, and other clotliing, emitted elecitricsparks,
ariivcd at Zcighan, a walled village‘, containing a
.g::bsrrvecl the colour Ul‘[l!e!])t;()pl@ to be cliziiigsd
Mukni the present Stilton of Fezzan, who contri-
'thc Castle, and learnt by degrees that some ex-
’ /
.
w-.{ia‘n,'toi ll-fijlli;f“i\1:lllCl] fhlr. Plilchic and
tain Lyon proceeded, in - co‘mpany.wit'h Yussnf,
the son‘ of Munki, a boy about eight’ years old,
who was sent by his father, with a proper escort,
,to collect the taxes. Hoon is a walled town,
‘smaller than Sackno, but built in the same'mau-
ncr. About 300 armed men came out with mu-
sic and dancing women to welcome Yussuf, in the
‘ me boisterous manner as his father had been re-
ived at Sockpa. - lloon has three g‘att:S,_.tlll‘Ce
-‘ os'tjues,I-atjgl-‘a largcmud building dignified with.
_ _ The gardens and palm
._pla'ntaIions are near the -walls. ‘Wadan is not
wallctlfand is iii all respects inferiorto the other
two. It is the custom of all these towns to keep
tame ostrichcs, for the sake of their fcatlicrs.
On tlié 22d April the caravan left S.ockna,and
the same day entered the passes of Soukah, or
Black Motttuitius; the basalt of which they are
composed is thus clcscribed by Professor Buck-
land of Oxford. ,
‘ Basalt, nearly black. muchim-pregnatcd thrin’-
out with carbonate of lime, and interspersed with
small circular cells, that are partly or wholly fill.
ed with com mop or with magncsiaii carlionate off
lime. The rl'ecompositirin- ofthis rock forms
small spherical fragments of considerable’ hard-
ness, the surface of which, by long exposure, has
acquired a kind of polish or glossy aspect,‘ and is
irregularly pitted or indented all over with small
cavities of various depths, from the rlc~t-‘.i~rtir:tioii of‘
the calarcous matter that 'ori_e;in_ally tilled them.”
He adds, “T.hc_cliain of the bloudah or Black
Mountains appears tobe composed ofthis basalt;
they rise to an elevation of about 1500 ieet, being
situated at it short distance on the south from
Sockna, and extending about 100 mile_sin-breadtli
from north to south, and in length as far as the
eye can reach from east to west : they are per-
fectly harren, ofirregular form, occasionally bro-
ken into detached masses and sometimes risi’ng_--
into cones. Their elevated plains are in some
parts covered with the small spliei-ical shining
l'ra_r;znents above described. The l2illlli(l€: ofthis
chain is from 28 40 to 27 30 north.” '
Having Cleared the Sourlah mountains, the ca-
r-izvan passed over a plain Co‘.'eretl u ith small white
§.§l".\\(‘l. “ ‘Ne did‘ not see any where the least
a;:pczn‘am:e of itgc-tatiran ; but -’ibset‘vcd many ske-
letons of animals, which had died riflritiguc on
the DCS€l'ls and 0'.casiot'.ally the grave of some
human being. r‘..lltllv;1St:l){)tllt.‘S were --o dried by
the extreme heatol the sun, that putrelaction did
not" appear to have l2’tl{'cD place alter death. ln
recently t’:X[‘zlt'L‘(l animals I could not perceive the
slightest olfeiisive smell _; and in those long dead,
the skin uith the’ hair on it. remained unbroken.
and perfect, although so brittle as to break with a
slight blow. The sand winds never cause these
czucases to change their places, as in a short time
a- slight mound is formed round .thcm, and they
become stationary.” .
‘ This plain presented so perfect an horizon all
round, tliat,_as Captain Lyon says, an astronomical
observation might have been taken as at sea ; and
such was the dryness of the air, that the horses’
tails in heating oil‘ the flies, the blankets, barra-
ttl'l(l.Cl‘:I(;l<lC'.l on being rubbed. Bey ond.tlt'Ls. W35
a ridge ofsand hills, which l,l‘l,l-‘."' crossed. and after
that a rough rocky country, till. on the 26th, they
population ofabout 500 white people. and situated
in the midst ofa large forest ot palm trees. -
At Sebhzi, surrounded _l)_v“grovcs oi palms in
the midst ofa rlrcar_vdcsert, all the Inuit popula-
tion came out to salute the Sui:-.m; for such, we
should have ob:.serve,(l, is the title which hlunlti
,t.il<cs on entering; Fczzan. Here Captain Lyon
_Moti‘r2_'.ouk- alone is about ‘$000 loads.,
1 .
5
i-1-ire.-tcni's_for civil," and othe
gizls for the B'ash_aw,and handsome negresses'f6r'
ll_1§;-hey his son,-for his brothers,
-c_tpal‘pe.ople about the’ court ; making at the same
time secret prearations_fo_r mg '
all his horses shod by night,
employed in gyindiiig com,
. evcr,_liis"‘ag_ent succeeded in di
',1‘he-general appearance of
is plain,and their
are ugly. in the extrcrne ; llclliicr
able for figure, hcfig-ht, styenggh, ,3
T-hey have hi h check l.)Dne-is - - ’ . ',
ml“€l.lh smallirfis. \Vli(lelm0UlllIS“.O:l(i(sl 1i’il)lolllc)-l])g:jl,)- ‘
but not somuch ftizzlcd as that oft "
Captain Lyon represents them as 'a cheerful peo-'
ple,. fond of music and d:ir:cing', and civil totach
other: at the same time he tells»:-is they ‘are dun
and ind_ifi'ct'cnr,anzl their affections cold and in-
terested; that they have none "of-that hospitality
which so eminently distinguishes the Arab tribes"
but on the contrary, that they always shut their:
doors at meals..in order that the stranger may not
partake, as their religio_n.cnjoins, This" ch‘;,,.ac_-~
tcr is at variance with that _i_;itcn by'Lucas, whose
communications in.gencrz_il are very accura;e,.__.
After stating that the s'hrcefand the plebcian, the
master and the man eat‘and _diin].; u,ge,h,._.,’ Lu;
cas adds, ‘* generous antl'eminem]’y hospitable,
the Fczzaner, let his fare be scanty or abundant, is
everl desigotiis llltl‘. others sliguld partal-zc of his
mea ; an .i twenty )t:ti)lt:—a'll()Ul(l = ‘-
visi; his divellftig, tllely riiust all pa.i'fii:1iLjiiiii:(i;lsui";];i:
as it will go.” _.And this, it .-.p,..e,,., from Capmin
l:y'oii,.is still the case _ with the people of zuep,
who are removed from the immediate iiifluencli
~ofMukoi; so that the change of clIat'act'cr'has
been el’fec_tecl by the jealous and t"apacious'coii-
duct ofthis tyrant. _Such are the difl'eret'itc{l'cc15
‘produced on a people, by a ‘legitinmu, au,j'j,t,,.ed._
nary. ‘government, and the'precarious rule ol'an'
usui-per. . . '
The lower classes and thejslalves are rrenerally '
employed in clratving; water‘ for llfillscrlaiold ‘ugc
and for irrigation; in lalioring in the fields agirj
gat‘de‘ns,ni.:king mats and baskctmwcaving coatsei
barracans, and working in leather, metal, and in
wood, which they do with crinsiclcrable sliill, and
vuitl:-. veny indifii:rent tools. l‘/lost ofthem can
rea( and write a little, and some 0f'lll€. - '
their invention in composii/lg" S()l)g‘5,'l:7lfl‘:l:)T(l1'Ilf:’:
tvomen sing verv prcttilr, ti-_1,;te'cm,,j0,._m; in
grinding corn, and other household labors. All
Cltissc:-5 at'e,as may he sup-posed,cxtrerncly su-
pors'.i:.inu's ; ' and a beliefin the evil, eye, devils,
ghosts, genii amlispitits, is l}ni.".‘t.“K‘Sal; the _,_.'cm:,._
al preventive ofuiischiefis the tgearixig ofcharms
and the fasting till sunset. , V
.115 ‘l'l.’.lil and dewsare equally unknown, gratin
and csculent vegetables are raised w_it.h gm.-at la-
bor, especially in watéring the ground, Thg,-e
is_ not a rivet-‘or even 2 rill in all Fczzan i;- and
tl1c.\vatcr from the wclls and syagnam 90035.35 ,,_
niversally more or less salt or bitter, Asses for
lztbour, camels for trav.clli_ng, sheep and goats for
sulisisteitcc, are the principal animalsof Fczzan :
al_mos;t_all these animals ‘are fed on dates ; asses
eat"t!7le‘:¥‘i-iiit ; camels, sheep Egg-Coats, the stones,
fit? "cc€"‘7}'il3§'§-0£‘Lh_e .,u].'an of I<'Czzar',“i:,a,.e-.dt.l.i_
and all his women‘
For this time how.
ihe men ofFez"zan
sex‘ is remark.
gor or activity.
,1,
vet! from slaves, mcrchandize ‘and dates, For
every slave brought into‘ his kin;§doiIr‘3ic‘e’sesj.-.1.
two Spanish dollars ; this produces him on an; a-
Vc‘I‘a.9,'c 8583: 4-000 dollars ; an the sale of-each a
(lollar and a hall, which gives 3000 more. l:'.'ver‘v
200 date trees pay one dollar; this gives him 3'.
bout 10,000 dollars.’ Each load of dates sold to
-the AlQ.l)S pays one dollar; the number Snld in
Every
to tli-at of inulaitocs; l*‘roiii this place, another
stony plain, t.lt(t:t"i'y bat t-en, followed by one of.
sand in ma-.ny places encrusted with salt. ,l)’-.‘()u‘_.;lll
them to a niiscrableijxturl. \'lll£1§'.;‘6 about three hours
from i\’lntirzouk,\t'liet'e the caravan lmlteil to make
prepcratlons for a public entry on the lollmving
day ; which £l(‘COt'(ll-|l'§_{ily‘lO0lr'{ place, with the same
turbulence and confiision, but with illCt'f.‘ilb€(l ’
ntiinbcrs, as on f0l'nlt:" occasions ofthe same kind.
The country of Fezzan, itselfa vast desert,
witlt__.nttmerous oases scattered over its surface, is.
surrounded on all sides by still rnbrc barren de-
serts. It extends from about the latitude 30 1-2’
deg. to 24 north, and from longitude 13 to 20 E.
being about 450 by'3"7O miles. The population
scattered over this wide waste is stated by l'lot‘ne-
man to amount to 70 or 75.,000 souls, of which,
according to Lyoti,Mour2ouk contains about 2500.
It was hcrerlitary in a black family of shrcefs for
more than five centuries, but tributary to the Da-
shaw of Tripoli. This tribute was collected by
vcdyto get the government of the country into his
own”hands, by promising the Bashaw to triple the
amount of the annual tribute. I*'or‘this purpose,
in the year 1811, he came upon" l\'lourzouk by
surpiise, caused the Sultan, his brothe.r, and the
principal Mamcluke to be strangled, and by his
oppressions of the people, but chiefly by the wars
which he waged, and still continues to wage: with
his tlefcnceless neighbours, for the sake of pro-
curing slaves, he has hitherto manager] to fulfil
his promise and retain his government. W'hiIc
however, our travellers. were at t\‘lourzouk, to
ports were circulated that another Sultan was on
his way from Tripoli to supersede him.
' “ These reports, cort'oborated by one or two
private letters, very tnuch alarmed the Sultan,
and caused him to fall si_ck anr.l take to his bed.
‘He-began, for the first time in his life, to pray'at
the regular liourordercd by the law ; he ceased
to swear, talked much of Paradise, and ofthe su-
peri‘ot'it’y ofthe other world to this. _ Mr. Ritchie
was at this time very weak, and began again to be
iudispused, but he constantly visited Mukni, and.
at last succcedad in restoring; him to health ;°thus
returning by kindness the,ill treatment we had
received from him. We both went frequently to
pressions of Mukni’shad come to the ears ofthc
llasliaw, whose emissaries he expected would be.
sent to strangle him, and take all his wealth. Ne-
ver was a haughty tyrantso completely humbled
by his fears as‘ this man ; he sat ‘constantly in a
dark room, would receive only one or two visit-
ors, and was ‘nursed by. ncgresses dayand night ;
alwaydspeakitig in a low voice, and, in his terror,
betraying all his secrets.” ‘V j ‘
He determined ‘however to try"what bribes an‘d
promises would do; andwith this view despatchw
crmel load of merchandize imported or exported-
pays a certain number o'fdollar's’, acicoi-ding to its
value. Besides tliese :-.-. ‘ ' '
_ “Every~ ;:at'<lcn pays a" tenth ofthe corn j)l'odn..
ccd ; presents of slaves are frcrpictnly lnadu, am:
_li'ncs l::Vl'€<l ; each t‘ou-npays a certain sum, which
is small. but asthc towns are numerous. may be
averaged to produce 4000 dollars. -Add to~u,ig,.
his animal excursions for slaves, sometimes bring-
ing 1000 or 1500, of ivliicli one fourthart-. his, as
well as the szfmo proportion ofcamcls. He alone
can sell _hot'scs; which he buys for live or six
dollars, when halfstarvecl from the A~:'abs‘, who
come to trade and caiinot mziinta-in‘tlie;m_'; and
makes a great profit by obtaining slaves in ex-
change for them. All his people are fed‘ by the-5
publ'_ic’, and he has no. money to pay but to the Ba‘
shaw, which, uigil the recent quarrel, was 15,000
dolla '5 per annur,n.'_, I have en'umcra'zer'l his gen-
eral income but there are various other wavsvin
which he extdrts money. Ila man dies clrjlldlcss.
the Sultan inherits grcal part of his property ;....
and if he thinks it necessary to kill a man, be be-'
comes his entire heir! All his people are on ;an
allowance from him, out of what-he [Rl(sS,fl‘0Il1-
others, at about the rate oftwo Kail, or above two
gallons of corn, and four ofdates penmonth. His
negresses are also allowanced in corn, dates, oil,
&c.‘according, to their size and age.” ' i
( T 0 be corztigzucdj
5
. BnooKL1'N','C't. Sept. 24.
Frnmle character res-jzcctcd.-—Saturday evening
the ism inst. terminated a trial before the Honor-
abie Superior. Court in session in this town, be-
tween Eliza S. Treat, and William Browning,
and his wife. The plaintiff was a young lady a-
bout nineteen. The defendant, Mrs. Browning.
was some advanced in years. ._ The latterfinvited
to her house a party_of ladies and gentlemen a-
bout two years ago. 'After‘_tea the plaintiff was
made the topic 'of animadversion, when Mrs.
Browning uttered the, slanderous words charged
in the declaration. For the injury arising» to the
plaintill"scharacter in consequence of these words
the suit was brought. The trial continued full
,three_days and was conducted with great ability.
After the charge was pronoianced by the Judge,
the Jury with great promptitude returned a ver-
dict of One T/zousand Dollars for theiplaintiff.
As the cause is’still pending oira motion for a
new trial,’ we omit further comment.
—-¢O&-9 '
.KEsx'E, (N. H.) Sept. 29.
‘It has been stated to us. for fact, that bed cloth-
ing, belonging to a family in V ’_arwick, has been
that boards and shingles fell in Ashby, 30 miles,
and nearly’ the wholeof one side of’a barn root,
in Fitchburg, which must have been carried t in
ed his principal man of business to Tripoli with
the flying whirl,’ qytbotll. 30 miles.
vertingltheistoi-,*,‘,_sa -
he negroes. 0
\
5
found since the ten. gale, in Royalston, and a pair 37.
of Post bags in VVinchendon, say 20'rr‘i’iTes ofi'—-
and for the prin.
lit, such as getting‘ ’
1:
rzit'ticles, ten fineslave e
complexion black ;-tlienvomm _ .
I;
l
‘ s
Norwalk Chronicler